School Newsletter : 31 March 2023

| Issue 11 | Spring 1 | Week 25 |

Parents Evening

Our next Parents Evening will be on Thursday 20th April, and you can sign up for your appointment times at the school office from Monday 27th March.

Please arrive 10 minutes prior to your appointment, so that you have time to review the work your child has selected with them, before meeting with your class teacher.

Club Updates

Due to the high demand for spaces at After School Club, those names on the register who have lapsed in use will be contacted by Miss Karen, to check if you wish to keep your place.

If you would like to retain your place, kindly note that all places must be paid for in full, even if you choose not to use them. We will then be able to re-allocate spaces for those on the waiting list.

Please note that ad-hoc days will not be possible if the request takes the number of pupils attending on that day OVER the ratio of pupils allowed.

In addition, please note that places for next September are already in high demand from new families who are starting. We will be asking all existing users to confirm their intention to continue attending After School Club in September during Parents Evening next term.

Extended School Day letters with application slips will be sent home on Monday 17th April. You can sign up for clubs on Tuesday 18th and Wednesday 18th April between 08:00 – 09:30 or from 15:00 – 16:00 on those days only.

Club Dates for the Summer Term:

Breakfast Club: Starts Monday 17th April and ends Friday 21st July
After School Club: Starts Monday 17th April and ends Wednesday 19th July
Extended School Day Clubs: Starts Monday 24th April and ends Friday 14th of July

Trips and Events: News round-up!

27th March: The Royal Mews

Oh Year 4 have been feeling so lucky! Last Monday, we went to visit The Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace. It was a special and enjoyable visit, and we learnt much about the history and purpose of The Mews. All the exquisite Royal carriages, coaches and cars are housed there as well as the many beautiful and highly trained horses. Most of the horses are currently away practising for the forthcoming Coronation, although we did get to see two of them, which was definitely the best part of the day for some children. We are now looking forward to revisiting The Abbey as the final part of our Coronation Club project. What a privilege it’s been to take part in this!

London Marathon

The London Marathon is the UK’s 2nd largest annual road race and will take place on Sunday 23 April. It starts all the way in Blackheath, near Greenwich and entrants have to run approximately 42.1 km (26.2 miles), before finishing on The Mall by Buckingham Palace. The event is televised lived annually and since its beginning in 1981, participants have raised more than £1 billion for good causes.

Our Chair of Governors, Narissa Bowles is running this year’s London Marathon and she has been training very hard in preparation. She received her entry from her running club, Ranelagh Harriers, in appreciation for her volunteering.

Did you know that Narissa has been volunteering at our school as a governor for over 10 years? And so, in recognition of volunteers everywhere, should you like to show your support, she requests that you please consider donating to our school’s PSA, The Friends of Burdett-Coutts.

You can donate to the Friends of Burdett-Coutts in several ways, by handing cash or a cheque to Miss Karen with “DONATION” clearly written on the envelope. Alternatively, you can make a direct payment to the following account: Friends of Burdett-Coutts | 20-35-93 | 53801950

Good luck Narissa – we’ll be watching out for you!

2-year old Pre-school Provision

We are currently exploring (quite strongly) the prospect of offering 2-year old provision from September 2023. If this is something you would like to make use of, please register your interest by emailing office@burdettcoutts.co.uk as soon as possible.

Many thanks to those who have already registered, the responses have so far been quite overwhelmingly positive.

If you know of friends or family currently on a waiting list for a 2-year old place, who are not attending our school, please do ask them to make contact with the school

We will be confirming this decision shortly after the Easter Holiday, including the publication of fees, hours of operation etc.

If you have any queries about this, please email office@burdettcoutts.co.uk

Are you getting to school on time?

A huge thank you to all of our families who are in school everyday and arrive on time! It is important that your child attends school every day and on time. Arriving late to school is unsettling for children and disrupts the start to their day.

Our school day starts at 09:00, and all pupils need to be in school by 08:55, to ensure that they are ready for learning at 09:00. Teachers are waiting in classes with learning ready to start at this time.

The main pupil entrance (gates) will open at 08:45 and will close at 08:55. After this time parents will need to bring their child/ren via school office. Please ensure your child is in school before 08:55.

From the February Half Term you will need to sign your children in if entering through the office. The time of entry and reason for lateness will be noted.

We are carefully monitoring attendance and punctuality as we have noticed an increasing trend of both becoming a pattern for some families.

Routines are the easiest way to ensure your child attends school on time every day, so try to create good routines for the start of your day, particularly if mornings are hectic in your household.

Try and prepare as much as possible the night before, and ensure that older children are taking much more responsibility for their readiness for school.

Did you know?!

10 minutes late every day = 33 hours lost learning each year!
Lateness and absence has a significant impact not only on your child’s learning, but also others, as teachers may have to re-teach late arrivals to ensure they can participate in the lesson.

Upcoming Events

April:

Monday 17th April: School begins for the Summer Term (all pupils)
Monday 17th April: Breakfast and After School Clubs Start
Monday 17th April: Booster Clubs for Year 6 only begin
Thursday 20th April: Parents Evening – sign up at the school office.
Friday 21st April: Year 5 & 6 Trip to Tower Bridge
Monday 24th April: Extended School Day and Booster Clubs begin for all pupils
Thursday 27th April: Teacher Strike Day (TBC) and more information to follow.

May:

Monday 1st May: Early May Bank Holiday – School Closed
Tuesday 2nd May: Teacher Strike Day (TBC) and more information to follow.
Monday 8th May: Coronation Bank Holiday – School Closed
Tuesday 9th – Friday 12th May: Year 6 SATS week. Good Luck!
Thursday 18th May: Ascension Day
Monday 29th May – Friday 2nd June: May Half Term Holiday

Community Corner

Collective Worship

The whole school attends acts of Collective Worship every day.

Mondays and Tuesdays: key stage singing assemblies led by Mr Carden.
Wednesdays: Church service led by Graham or Helena, the clergy at St Stephens with St John on Rochester Row. These services are very child-friendly, and Year 6 take a leading role by processing, singing in the choir and reading the Bible readings and prayers.
Thursdays: We focus on celebrating achievements, led by a member of SLT, School Council or a class teacher with their class. When a class teacher leads the assembly, their class also recite a piece of poetry they have been learning. We would be very grateful if parents could support their children in learning these poems when it is their turn.
Friday: Opportunities for classes to share what they have been learning with their families and the rest of the school.

Class Assemblies

Class assemblies start at 9:00. Parents, kindly be seated by 8:55.

31st March: Roll Back the Stone Year 3 & Year 6 Easter production @ 09:30 at St.Stephens Church. Doors open to parents at 09:15.

For those of us who have been at Burdett-Coutts for longer than we’d dare to admit, Easter promises two annual treats. The first is Graham’s memorable re-enactment of Jesus’ last few days and crucifixion: his entry into Jerusalem on a donkey, the Last Supper, Peter’s denial of Jesus and the role of Pilate and Barabbas in Jesus’ story.

On Wednesday the entire congregation was enthralled by Graham’s powerful rendition, especially as he dragged the enormous wooden cross up the aisle and banged nails into it to great dramatic effect. Thank you so much Graham for helping us have a better understanding of this important part of the Bible and Jesus’ story. And well done to the Year 6 children who took on roles as disciples, crowd, Jesus, Pilate, Peter and Judas – you did a great job!

The second Easter treat was Year 3’s performance of Roll Back the Stone on Friday, which supports our understanding of the Easter story through drama and songs. A huge well done to all of Year 3 for their hard work and engagement with this play, and to Mr Carden, Mr Gower-Rudman and Miss Polly for everything they have done to put this wonderful show together

There are many exciting events and services happening at St Stephen’s Church over the Easter period, and everyone is invited! Graham and Helena would be delighted to welcome families from Burdett-Coutts. You can find detailed information at http://www.sswsj.org/2023-holy-week-and-easter.html but here are the highlights that may be of interest to our families:

2nd April: Palm Sunday @ 10:30 – Blessing of Palms, Procession and Sung Eucharist (procession starting at St Matthew’s and ending at St Stephen’s)
7th April: Good Friday @ 10:30 – Children and Young People’s Service (with hot cross buns!)
9th April: Easter Day @ 6:00 – Dawn Service | 10:00 – sung Eucharist of the Resurrection with Baptism

Term Dates 2022-2023

Please find here the agreed term dates set by our school’s Governing Body for the upcoming academic year, starting September 2022.

Please remember that holidays will not be authorised during the school term, and that all children should be in school (on time) every day.

Please refer to the table below for the term dates, including INSET days and Bank Holidays when the school will be closed to pupils.

Alternatively, you can click on the image thumbnail on the right to view the PDF (please note this will open in a new window) or you can click on the link below:

Burdett-Coutts & Townshend Foundation CE Primary School Term Dates 2022-2023 >

AUTUMN TERM 2022
Start of Term (for Years 1-6)	Monday	05 September 2022
To	Friday	21 October 2022
Half Term	Monday	24 October 2022
	Friday	28 October 2022
Return on	Monday	31 October 2022
End of Term	Friday	16 December 2022

SPRING TERM 2023
Start of Term	Wednesday	04 January 2023
To	Friday	10 February 2023
Half Term	Monday	13 February 2023
	Friday	17 February 2023
Return on	Monday	20 February 2023
End of Term	Friday	31 March 2023

SUMMER TERM 2023
Start of Term	Monday	17 April 2023
To	Friday	26 May 2023
Half Term	Monday	29 May 2023
	Friday	02 June 2023
Return on	Monday	05 June 2023
End of Term	Friday	21 July 2023

INSET DAYS
Teaching & Learning: Curriculum Map Autumn/Spring	Thursday	01 September 2022
Teaching & Learning: Phonics	Friday	02 September 2022
Assessment & Pupil Progress	Friday	02 December 2022
Teaching & Learning: Curriculum Map Autumn/Spring	Tuesday	03 January 2023
Assessment & Pupil Progress	Friday	07 July 2023

BANK HOLIDAYS (school closed)
May Bank Holiday	Monday	01 May 2023
Coronation Bank Holiday	Monday	08 May 2023

September 2023: Nursery & Reception places available

If you are looking for a Nursery or Reception Place, for your child from September 2023, please contact the school and make an appointment to join a school tour.

We’d be delighted for you to join us for a 30-minute bespoke EYFS tour, where you will have the chance explore our Early Years setting, speak to key staff and ask any questions regarding admissions and your child starting with us at Burdett-Coutts.

Please contact us to register for our tours which take place every Thursday, with times available from 09:30 – 14:30 during term time.

To book your tour place, please call 0207 828 6790
For further information about starting Reception at Burdett-Coutts, please click here >

Funding eligibility letter for Pupil Premium, Early Years Funding & Free School Meals

Due to changes in the eligibility criteria for Pupil Premium, Free School Meals and qualifying for 30 hours of funding for Nursery provision, many pupils currently enrolled at our school may now be entitled to one of these funding allocations.

We will be issuing letters to families who are currently not in receipt of the above, asking you to complete the registration for the identified funding option your child/ren maybe eligible for. Thank you so much in advance for your help in completing this.

This funding allows us to increase additional staffing hours to run booster groups, and an exciting range of extended day activities, that benefit our school and your child, and your cooperation is greatly appreciated at this difficult time for school budgets.

If you should have any queries with regards to the letter sent to you, please contact Mrs Deary or the school office.

Nursery:

Nursery have been busy readers and exploring the wonderful world of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Using sensory trays and sequencing logs they were able to recreate the story with each other, making full sense of the story. During a Philosophy for Children session, we explored various themes of the book, which elicited some wonderful thoughts and ponderings.

Reception:

We have been learning all about Minibeasts in Reception this half term. We have learnt lots of interesting facts about dragonflies, ladybirds and snails. This week we discovered new facts about spiders. We know that spiders lay their eggs in sacs and make silk in their bodies which they use to create their webs. We then wrote these facts down in simple sentences in our writing lessons. We are trying to remember to leave a finger space between each word and to put a full stop at the end of our sentence. We are becoming confident and independent writers.

Year 1:

In Literacy we have been reading the story of Katie and the Sunflowers. We love stories about Katie! We retold the story during writing time including all the adventures she went on during her visit to the art gallery. We also created our own beautiful sunflower artwork to go in our own galleries.

Year 2:

In RE, we have been learning about Easter. Pupils have been focusing on the importance of Jesus’ resurrection for Christians and paying close attention to the symbols that appear throughout the Easter story. They reflected on the thoughts and feelings of Mary when she discovered Jesus’ empty tomb and her surprise when an angel appeared. We then retold the story by working in groups to create freeze frames for each important scene.

Year 3:

Year 3 delivered a wonderful performance of Roll Back the Stone on Friday to a very full church of pupils, teachers and parents. They did extremely well – remembering their lines, doing some wonderful singing and some entertaining acting! Thank you to all the parents who came along to support the children and we hoped you enjoyed the show. A big thank you also to Year 6 for helping us with the singing, and to everyone for their time and support in preparing us for this show. We had a lot of fun.

Year 4:

This week, as Writers, we have been writing in the style of journalists to create newspaper reports based on our class text, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. We had great fun recreating the tale of Augustus Gloop, a greedy boy who gets stuck in a glass pipe in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Room! We thought about the key features of newspaper reports, such as headlines, catchy introductions, facts and quotations from eyewitnesses. As well as writing to inform, we tried to amuse and entertain the reader – a bit like the author himself, Roald Dahl.

Year 6:

This week as Scientists, we have been consolidating our learning by creating a script for a TV show about healthy living. The aim of this show is to inform younger children about the impact that exercise and diet has in our day-to-day lives. We have included the different food groups, the role of several vitamins and the positive impact of exercise on the brain. Did you know that exercise increases blood flow to the brain? Due to its high metabolic demand, the brain demands good circulation, and exercise aids it. Exercise induces good blood flow to deliver all the nutrients required to carry out the brain’s job, while it also increases production molecules important to brain function, including memory.